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Toms River, NJ

Trip Overview

Outside the Wharton State Forest, the Toms River is probably the most popular river in the Pine Barrens. One reason is the proximity to the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area and the intensive development around the town of Toms River. Another is the length of the navigable part of the river, which is the second longest such run in the Pinelands. A third reason is its variety, from a narrow stream strewn with debris to a wide, clear flow into a tidal basin. One can paddle into the center of the town of Toms River. On the negative side, the Toms has more poison ivy than any other river in the Pine Barrens.

Always an interesting river and a challenge for canoeists at any level of
skill, the Toms has become even more so in recent years because the upper
section is no longer well maintained. In this portion the headwaters of the Toms
flow through a deciduous forest in tight, sharply twisted bends with moderate to
heavy patches of debris. The middle section, beginning at Whitesville, also
contains debris but is more manageable, and the river passes beautiful stands of
holly. The lower part is straighter and more piney.

During the American Revolution, the town of Toms River was a center for privateering,
and a salt warehouse was located there. A windmill once stood in the middle of
the river, near the town. Aside from that, the river itself does not seem to
have been prominent in our history. Of three possible sources for its name, the
most favored is that it was named after a Thomas Luker who settled among the
Indians on the river around 1700. Formerly, it was called Goose Creek.

Possible routes
Of all the rivers in the Pine Barrens, the Toms has been most affected by development. It was once possible to enjoy a continuous two- to three-day run from Cassville to the town of Toms River. Access was good at both ends, and local people kept the river clear above Whitesville, where the accumulation of debris renders the river difficult to
negotiate.

However, it is now much more difficult to put in at Cassville, where there
are two accesses: at Thompson Bridge Road and at Route 528. At both places,
guardrails at the bridge make parking impossible nearby. It is possible to park
on Route 528 temporarily at the intersection with Dominion Drive, on the
upstream side, river left. After unloading, canoeists may then leave vehicles at
Jackson Forest Recreation Area, which is 2¼10 of a mile east of the river, south
side of the road.

The most convenient upper access is at Don Connor Boulevard. Don Connor
Boulevard was once known as Coventry Road and is still Coventry Road to some
people who have lived in the area for a long time. Canoeists should know both
road names in case they need directions.

The access at Bowman Road is also good. One advantage of the run from Bowman
Road to Whitesville is the short shuttle, about 3 miles. People with only one
car can walk from one end to the other in about an hour, but the river meanders
so much that a rather full day is required to paddle it, particularly in its
present condition. From Bowman Road to Whitesville may take as long as the trip
from Whitesville to town.

Owing to the accumulation of debris that exists now, most people would not
want to paddle the Toms River above Whitesville. In partial compensation,
Winding River Park runs along the left bank of the river from a point north of
Route 527 for several miles to Route 37. In the park, the river has been left
alone and has become wilder and more attractive. The park does include a bike
path and several picnic and rest spots. From Whitesville down, the best river
accesses are at Whitesville, Route 571, Winding River Park, and the town. Access
at Route 70 is dangerous due to heavy traffic and should be used only for
emergency. Access at Route 527 is prohibited. The run from Whitesville to Toms
River is best done in two days, but it can be done in one with an early start.

Riverwood Park is open to Dover Township nonresidents if a permit is obtained
in advance and in person. There are three sites. The one at the end of Edgemere
Avenue is the closest for camping, and the other two are better for expedition
from the boat.

Additionally, there are unposted areas along the river where it may be
possible to stop for the night. I do not know whether camping is permitted at
any of these spots, but it may be condoned if campers leave the sites unlittered
and undisturbed. No one should start an open fire, anywhere, without a permit.

Public transportation
New Jersey Transit provides service from New York City to Lakewood and to Toms River, and from Philadelphia to Lakewood. By advance arrangement Pineland Canoes will pick up canoeists at either Lakewood or Toms River and transport them to the river.

Other amenities
Toms River has a shopping center on Route 37 just east of the Garden State Parkway. Routes 9 and 70 have several facilities. There is a hospital in Toms River and a larger one in Lakewood.

Water level
For my runs, the water at Bowman Road was 57 inches below the bridge in the spring and 64 inches in the fall. On both trips the level of the river was about average. There is a gauge at the river access at Whitesville, on the upstream center piling of the bridge. A water level of 4 feet on this gauge corresponds to medium low; at this reading, the Braleys found the water was about 44 inches below the bridge at Don Connor Boulevard and 80 inches at Bowman Road. Even at this level, however, liftovers downstream are rare, and paddling downstream from Whitesville is usually reasonable. Above Whitesville, the Toms can be paddled at this level, but less water could compound
the debris problem.

River details from Route 528 to Toms River
Throughout most of the upper section, the width of the Toms is usually 1 canoe length but sometimes slightly wider, and its meanderings are sharp, with frequent hairpin
turns. The banks are of low to medium height and are covered thickly with grasses and deciduous bushes that often hang over the water and obstruct passage. The trees, also deciduous, are large and thinly spaced but gradually become crowded and more slender. Brier hangs from the trees in great sheets or dangles from bushes, which can cause entanglement for a canoe. Holly appears occasionally on the banks and, when the leaves are gone, contrasts with the bareness of the surroundings. Moderate to heavy amounts of debris are encountered, much of it requiring liftovers. The river continues for some time in the same vein: debris to work through or around, with liftovers; moderate to
thickly packed trees; dense bushes and brier along the banks; and frequent sharp
turns.

A short time later the river passes through the right-of-way of a
high-voltage power line where the dense growth has been cleared and replaced by
grasses. The stream twists wildly for several minutes in the open field before
drawing alongside a dry, sandy bank that is good for a rest stop. Then the river
turns into the woods and passes under the bridge at Don Connor Boulevard.

Debris gradually becomes heavier again. Bushes and brier hang over the water,
but the trees are more thinly spaced than before, giving a more open appearance
to the river. Turns continue to be very sharp and frequent. Eventually, a
cleared area on the left offers a possible rest stop, which is soon followed by
a low-voltage power line.

Turns become less frequent. A tributary enters on the left, and the adjacent
grassy spot makes a good rest stop. The river passage is clearer, and there are
few overhanging bushes. Occasionally one sees a thin stand of cedars and pines,
or a holly tree. Soon the turns become sharp and frequent again, but only for a
few minutes. Houses appear on the left, and then the river passes under a sand
road that is part of a tree farm operated by the state Forestry Department. A
short walk up a path on the left leads to seed-tree orchards of several species.
Trout are also stocked here; according to some local fly fishermen, Trout
Unlimited (an organization of sport fishermen) may try to establish a permanent
trout habitat. Downstream from the road there are several sharp turns that may
be clogged with debris. A short time later, one passes under the Bowman Road
bridge.

After five to ten minutes of frequent meanders, a low cleared spot appears on
the left; a wide trail there leads to a large field of pines. The river's turns
soon become gentle and infrequent. An occasional tree lies in the water. This is
the first area in which poison ivy is obvious; it grows on the trees and debris
projecting over the river. Sometimes, while squeezing under a log, one must
contort oneself more than usual in order to avoid the poison ivy that dangles
there.

The type of foliage begins to change-hummocks of grasses become more common
and trees more scattered. The scenery takes on an open aspect. The banks become
more swampy and the river winds, sometimes in sharp hairpin turns, through
grassy fields with some low bushes and occasional, isolated trees. Some of the
very tall trees are dead, and vines hang from their branches. Poison ivy is
common near the water. Brier is also common, sometimes in dead, matted patches.
Looking to the side through the grass, one can often see another part of the
river flowing in the opposite direction.

Soon the Toms passes back into woods. The foliage closes in, with overhanging
bushes and brier, and becomes very dense. Debris occurs frequently. After a time
a canal appears straight ahead. The river, however, turns sharply left in the
first of many hairpin turns. The banks are swampy. The water spreads out,
passing through bushes and sometimes forming more than one channel. Usually it
is best to stay where the water flow is heaviest unless there is an obvious
shortcut through the bushes. Somewhere in the midst of this swamp a high-voltage
power line crosses overhead.

The river continues to wind through swampy bushes. Care must be taken to
follow the channel. Poison ivy makes spectacular displays by sending its stems
up from dead stumps in the water. One such stand resembles a curled finger or
figure 9. Debris and liftovers are frequent. The swamp continues in this way for
some time. Eventually it becomes better defined, and soon the Doves Mill Branch
enters on the left. The turns are still sharp and frequent, with the customary
debris. But soon the banks become firmer and the bushes thinner. A few minutes
later one arrives at the bridge at Whitesville.

Below Whitesville, several trees (some of them large) lean precipitously over
the water; the soil has eroded from around their roots. Other trees stand in the
river on small clumps of soil that their roots hold in place. Mosses, lichens,
and poison ivy grow on the trees. Within ten minutes one comes to a stopping
place on the left where a sandy trail leads to an open field. Then the river
passes under a railroad trestle and to a pumping station on the right. Patches
of pines appear occasionally along the higher banks; sheep laurel appears often
on the slopes. On the right a flat pine area cleared of underbrush offers a good
stopping place.

For the first time, many holly trees can be seen. The meanders of the river
are inconsistent. Debris is considerably less severe, although an occasional
liftover may be necessary in low water. After some time, one comes to a spot
where both banks are cleared; perhaps there used to be a bridge here. On the
right there is a house set well back from the bank, but a low ramp on the left
makes a good stopping place. About five minutes later, one passes under Route
70.

The river borders a mobile-home development for a few minutes and then turns
and parallels a quarry on the right, which is mostly hidden behind bushes on
high ground. The river widens to 11¼2 or 2 canoe lengths, with gentle and
infrequent turns. Holly is still common. A pump station appears on the right;
rigging from the station leads to the quarry. In ten or fifteen minutes there is
a campsite on the left, the first of three in Riverwood Park. (The other two
appear within the next ten or fifteen minutes.) The low-lying shore of the park
is covered with trees, and stone benches line a footpath along the water near
the far end. The river turns frequently through here. After the park there is an
extensive and obtrusive housing development on the right. A few minutes beyond
it, the river passes under Route 571.

The river continues turning frequently for several minutes, and there is
considerable debris in the water. The Ridgeway Branch then enters from the
right, widening the stream to 2 canoe lengths; at this point, there are few
turns and little debris. Albocondo Campgrounds can soon be seen on the left,
although a hairpin meander must be negotiated before arriving there. A short
time later, the posted property of the Toms River Plant of the Ciba-Geigy
Corporation appears on the right. The banks become medium to high, sandy and
covered with scattered pines and low bushes. The growth is rather dry looking in
comparison with the lush bushes upstream. Some cranberries can be seen. A power
station soon appears on the right, and in a few minutes the river meanders back
and forth next to a wire fence. At one time this was an unpleasant section, when
odors from the chemical plant hovered over the water for a fifteen- to
twenty-minute stretch. The plant has often been accused of committing pollution
violations and spilling waste into the river; perhaps the publicity has had an
effect, because lately the aroma has not been noticeable.

The river widens further to about 3 canoe lengths. Several minutes later the
canoe passes under Route 527. In another few minutes an open, sandy area appears
on the left. This is the canoe access area for Winding River Park. It is marked
on the left bank with two fluorescent green stripes on a tree. The banks
gradually become lower and are occasionally swampy. The trees and bushes take on
a more deciduous appearance. In about twenty minutes, a bridge crosses the
river. The bridge is for the bike path through the park, which parallels the
river on the right for the next 2 miles or so. Several good stopping points are
available along this stretch. The river turns constantly. After some time it
makes a hairpin turn around a very good, sandy beach where a rope hangs high
over the outside of the bend. Pilings crossing the river here are all that
remain of a wooden bridge. Pine trees disappear, and in a short time the river
runs under Route 37.

At this point the Toms River becomes tidal. It turns left toward the cleared
and marshy right-of-way of a high-voltage power line. Then it turns away from it
and meanders tightly back and forth. After crossing under Route 527 for the
second time, the river turns left and meanders across the right-of-way three
times. Passing under a low-voltage power line, it turns right through thin woods
near buildings that are the outskirts of the town of Toms River. It passes under
a railroad trestle and a gas pipeline and leaves the woods, losing its identity
in a broad marsh. One should then turn left and paddle under the Garden State
Parkway, keeping close to the bushes on the left. There is a channel here; it
swings left before a bush-covered island and then right around a lumberyard.
Then it crosses under the railroad trestle again; on the other side is the
public boat ramp at the back of the commuter parking lot behind the Toms River
post office. At high tide, a canoe may not be able to pass under this trestle,
in which case the canoe may be taken out here and carried to the parking lot.

This report was excerpted from the book Paddling the Jersey Pine Barrens by Robert Parnes with permission from Falcon Publishing.